


This Feeling I've Got

by PwoperNinjaElf



Category: Muse (Band)
Genre: AU, Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Dom with black hair, Fluff, Getting Together, Kissing, M/M, Matt is a dog walker, Matt with blue hair, Mutual Pining, Smut, all the old school band tees, but not too major, newly single Dom, uni student Matt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 07:16:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13243221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PwoperNinjaElf/pseuds/PwoperNinjaElf
Summary: Newly single and moving back into his old flat, Dominic Howard was not in the midst of a mid-life crisis. He was not. For one, thirty-one was far too young for that to be the case. He was just going through a new period in his life, one that takes an interesting turn when a boy with bright blue hair (and several dogs at hand) walks into his life.





	This Feeling I've Got

**Author's Note:**

> New stuff from me, gasp, shock. I know, I know... I had fun writing this for the Tea Party challenge over on Museslash (Dreamwidth), so wanted to share it on here too.
> 
> For interest's sake, the stuff I chose:  
> Flavour: sugar (porn) and lemon (fluff)  
> Munchies: scones (necklace), strawberry jam (skin) and cupcakes (cigarettes)
> 
> The song title come's from Razorlight's _I Can't Stop This Feeling I've Got._
> 
> And happy New Year! 2018, may you not suck! 
> 
> I should also then just point out that this is naturally just a work of fiction and that no offense was intended, however, the story and characters are mine. It's all just meant to be fun and I hope you enjoy!

Dominic Howard was not in the midst of a mid-life crisis. He was not. For one, thirty-one was far too young for that to be the case. His life was just… experiencing some changes at the moment, that was only to be expected though when one’s long-term relationship came to an end. 

  
Dominic was single and fancy-free again, for the first time in over four years, he was simply rediscovering himself, his personal interests and wants that were not all tied up in confusion with someone else’s. Sure, he’d gone and dyed his hair black – much to his mother’s dismay – and taken up smoking again, but that was all just part of the process. He was having fun with it, letting himself go at whim, no longer having to worry about another’s concerns holding him back. It wasn’t like he’d gone and bought himself a convertible and gained a big tattoo and a couple piercings, his best mate Andy and his mum could relax about it all.  
  
Dominic James Howard was just once more his own person.  
  
Dominic had also gone and moved the stuff that had migrated to Kieran’s over the years back into his own flat. His own flat which had more or less just sat about collecting dust for the past three or so years, Dominic only really stopping by occasionally to store or pick up things. He’d always figured he’d sell it eventually, when Kieran and him ultimately tied the knot and would want to buy a bigger place than just their tiny flats. He was certainly glad now that he’d held off selling it for so long though.  
  
Therefore, cleaning up and redoing his flat a bit was not at all another sign of the mid-life crisis Dominic was certainly not having. The place was a tip, the walls needed a lick of new paint and a splash of wallpaper here and there. Some new items of furniture were nice too. It was just homemaking, Dominic was not trying to create a whole new identity… The black hair suited him, okay? The trendy hairdresser had said it really brought out the blue depths in his grey eyes, made them ‘pop’.  
  
Dominic rolled his eyes at himself, fingers pushing the sweeping fringe of black hair out of his face, as he kicked his front door closed, dog leash in one hand and half-finished carton of Marlboro in the other. He did not regret dying his hair. Not one iota.   
  
“Besides, now we match more, yeah?” he smiled down at the little, black and white Boston Terrier clipped on the end of the leash, his tail wagging excitedly at the prospect of a walk. Dom had spent the whole day finishing up with the last of his interior remodelling and figured they could do with a bit of fresh air. Well Hendrix could, Dom wouldn’t mind a smoke for himself along the way.   
  
That was the other upside to having kept his flat, because like at Kieran’s, pets were allowed; a rule that hadn’t really affected Dom much at the time of original purchase. But, since adopting Hendrix from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home two years previous, it certainly was a plus. It meant he didn’t have to go searching for a new gaf, because Lord knew he could never part ways with the little guy. The truth of the matter was, that parting with Kieran was easier than parting with Hendrix would ever be. Kieran, at least to his credit, hadn’t even suggesting anything other than Dom get the dog.  
  
So, pocketing his smokes, Dominic made his way, past his neighbour’s door, which had been left wide open – Dom resisted the urge to peer inside – and down the stairwell. He was four floors up, but his block of flats didn’t boast an elevator like Kieran’s posh pad had, Dom reckoned the added bit of exercise could only do him some good though.   
  
He waved back at the tall bloke who was headed inside one of the larger, ground floor flats as Dom passed him. He looked vaguely familiar, so Dom figured he’d probably been living there a while, especially if he also seemed to recognise him. It had been a while, Dominic had certainly missed out a lot of the goings on around his own flat, or so he’d begun to realise over the past week since being back.   
  
While much had stayed the same, quite a bit had apparently changed in the meantime too. For one, he reckoned that the Jones’s had probably moved out, considering the fact that he’d been treated to AC/DC’s greatest hits pouring in through their shared wall for most of the previous night and then Nirvana’s discography the night before. He figured that that didn’t quite meet the usual tastes of an elderly couple in their seventies. But then, you never did really know. Though he couldn’t say he quite remembered waking up to wailing guitars when he’d lived here in the past…  
  
His head a bit in the clouds, Dom didn’t see the approaching balls of fur until Hendrix gave a sudden yank, snapping him right back into the present, to see that he was now surrounded by dogs, excitedly sniffing him and Hendrix, tails wagging away. There was a small fluffy white dog that was especially interested in Dom, big dark eyes staring up at him excitedly, while the German Shepard, corgi and pug all surrounded Hendrix.  
  
“Hello there,” Dom greeted the furry horde, unable to resist crouching down to give the white puff of fur a little head scratch.  
  
“Sorry! Sorry, they’re harmless, I swear,” a voice said then, prompting Dom to look up and see a young man run up to them too, before hastily grabbing hold of the dogs’ leads, which had clearly escaped his grip in their mad dash over to Dom and Hendrix.  
  
“Er, no, no, it’s, um, fine. Don’t stress,” Dom stammered out, as he straightened up again, uncharacteristically awkward. The man was rather lovely to look at, if Dom was being honest.   
He had a shock of bright blue hair, which stood out in a spikey mess, as well as a pair of the prettiest blue eyes Dom had probably ever seen, and that didn’t even begin to mention the man’s cheekbones, which could probably cut glass, they were so sharp and elegant. He was of a fairly slight stature and slim build and Dom reckoned he was probably in his early twenties or there about. His outfit of a pair of grey trackie bottoms and a black Nirvana tee certainly seemed to agree with the fact, but also helped to make him look impossibly soft. Something in Dom’s chest panged.  
  
“No, but really, I am sorry. They’re usually far better behaved – they caught me completely off guard,” the man explained, offering Dom a sheepish smile and making the existence of a wonky front tooth known in the process. It was cute.  _He_  was cute.  
  
“Don’t worry. Really. You certainly have a lot of dogs after all,” Dom said, managing to gain a bit more of his usual charm with his delivery this time. Or so he hoped. “I can only imagine how difficult they can be to herd about.”  
  
“What? Oh, no, they’re not mine.” When Dom couldn’t help but frown in confusion at that, the man rushed to add, “The, er, dogs, I mean. I’m a walker. A Dog walker. I, er, walk other people’s dogs? So, yeah, they’re not mine. They’re other people’s dogs. That I, er, well, walk. So, yeah, not mine.”  
  
Dom felt his eyebrows raise a little at the man’s sudden rapid speech, his words running into one another as he quickly tried to explain himself in a ramble, that Dom shouldn’t have found as endearing as he did.   
  
“Ah, yeah, well, that makes sense.” Dom nodded, tearing his eyes away from those stunning blue ones, to look back down at the dogs, which were all walking about to their leads’ extents, sniffing at all the apparently interesting smells on the pavement and in the air around them. “You’ve still got to rather like dogs though, I’d imagine.”  
  
“Of course! But they are lovely, honestly, it’s a fun job to have – walking is a great way to do some thinking and with my furry clients at my side and some good music in my ears, it’s always a good way to finish my day.”  
  
At his mention of music, Dom properly took note of the fact that he had a pair of headphones around his neck, their cord disappearing off into the pocket of his joggers. They were quite an old school set of headphones; the sort Dom probably hadn’t really seen around much since he’d been at least a teenager still. Quirky.  
  
“I can imagine, Lord knows I treasure my walks with Hendrix, it really is a great way to clear one’s head.”  
  
“Your dog’s called Hendrix? As in after  _Jimi_  Hendrix?” the man asked, his entire face lighting up, but all his attention swiftly turning to the little black and white dog, rather than the dog in question’s owner.  
  
“The one and the same,” Dom confirmed, trying to not be too miffed when the man crouched down to coo at Hendrix, Dom simply forgotten. He certainly smiled again, however, when all the other dogs took this as an invitation to rush the man, the German Shepard succeeding in bowling him over and all.  
  
“That’s a bloody brilliant name, mate!” the man said between laughter as he tried pushing his ‘furry clients’ away as they all attempted to lick his face and clamber for space on his already pretty narrow lap.  
  
“Thanks,” Dom grinned back at the spectacle, oddly chuffed by the stranger’s approval, as the man eventually managed to push them all away and scramble back onto his feet again.   
  
“Well, it’s been real, but I need to get all these guys home. Nice to meet you, er…?”  
“Dom. My name’s Dominic, but, you know, Dom for short,” Dom (perhaps a little  _too_  hastily, he thought with an internal cringe) helpfully filled in.  
  
The man grinned back, snaggle tooth curling his top lip a little. “Well, it was lovely to meet you, Dom. I’m Matt – you know, short for Matthew,” he winked, before waving cheers and heading off.  
  
Matt.   
  
 _Matthew_ , it was a fairly common name for a man that certainly was himself not all that common, his unique beauty a stand out as far as Dominic was concerned. It kind of suited him though, the contradiction, Dom decided, much like his slightly wonky nose and skew tooth stood in contrast to the flawlessness of those stunning eyes and model-like bone structure, the features all working together perfectly as a whole.  
  
Dominic may have then turned around to watch Matt leave, his eyes trailing over that lithe figure, until Matt had rounded the corner and was out of sight. And out of Dom’s life again, just as quickly as he’d entered it.  
  
Oh well, Dom thought with a shrug, beginning to pick up his walk with Hendrix once more, Matt  _was_  a little bit young for him, and that was even if he swung that way at all. There then was also the fact that Dom had also fairly recently just come out of a pretty long-term relationship; the plan now was to embrace his single status and just be himself, unattached for the first time in a long time, not just find himself already tied down again.  
  


~*~

  
The thing was, well, that it only of course then turned out Matt hadn’t quite walked out of Dominic’s life again after all. Rather far from it, in fact. For who – of all people – should Dom then bump into in the corridor right outside his flat, only a few days later, but Matthew himself, electric blue hair and all.  
  
“Oh, Matt!” the words were out of Dom’s mouth before his brain could even register them properly, instantly giving away the fact that Dom had all too easily remembered his name, right off the bat, despite them only having ever had one very brief interaction before.   
  
Dom would have been lying if he’d said the young man with his sharp angles, lovely eyes and apparent quirky nature hadn’t been somewhere on his mind over the past few days since meeting him. Dom, couldn’t help it, there was just…  _something_ about the man.  
  
Matt’s head instantly snapped up, looking away from what he’d been busy with while walking down the corridor. It appeared, of all the things to be busy with, he was apparently slipping a cassette (a cassette?! In this day and age?) into an honest to God Walkman (Dom didn’t know people even still knew about those, let alone had one, never mind the bloody  _cassette_  tape). Dom was easily brought back to the more pressing matter at hand – that Matt had seemingly (and quite literally) just walked right back into his life – when Matt’s face quickly turned from confused to something that looked genuinely pleased.  
  
“Dom! Wow, fancy seeing you here,” he grinned back widely, slipping the Walkman into the back pocket of his (delightfully tight) black skinny jeans. Dom, naturally, took note of the way the trousers fit his slim legs all too perfectly, doing them far better justice than the trackie bottoms he recalled seeing Matt in the last time. He had nice legs, it was nice to know he didn’t mind showing the fact from time to time. Dom, himself, was quite the skinny jeans enthusiast after all.  
  
“Well, seeing how I live here and all, it shouldn’t really be that surprising,” Dom said, his hand coming up to distractedly brush through his fringe, as he offered Matt a small smile of his own. He felt like a fucking school boy all over again around the other man. Christ, what was it about him? Pretty boys didn’t usually throw Dom off quite this much.  
  
Matt’s face seemed to quite literally brighten up with this new bit of information, his snaggle tooth standing proud in his wide grin. “No way, you live here? So do I! On this floor actually.”

Dom was pretty sure his jaw must have hit the floor at that bit of news, for what were the odds? How was it even possible that he had been staying not only in the same block of flats as this charming enigma of a man, but also shared the same floor as him, without once having ever crossed his path before. Not even in the past month or so since his, er, more permanent lodging status.  
  
“You’re kidding me?”  
  
“Nah, I’m not. Don’t tell me, you live on this floor too?” Matt asked, the surprise of the whole thing rather clear in those big blue eyes of his.  
  
“Forty-two,” Dom nodded, to which a loud, high-pitched bark of a laugh then escaped Matt, the sound endearingly dorky. Christ, Dom was losing it, honestly, falling quicker than a damn penny tossed into a fountain.  
  
“I’m in forty-one,” nudging his head in the direction of the door only a few paces behind him, which he had apparently recently just exited. The flat right next door to Dom’s. The flat that used to belong to the Joneses. Dom’s eyes immediately drew down to the AC/DC band tee that Matt was currently wearing, that completed off his entirely black ensemble, taking note of it now for the first time.   
  
But of fucking course.  
  
Dom couldn’t help the sudden burst of his own laughter, the sound ringing out around them in the narrow passageway. It was crazy sometimes how life sprung shit on one like this, the serendipity of it all ridiculous.  
  
Matt giggled some more, but when Dom managed to stop laughing quite so stupidly, he noticed a curious quirk to Matt’s eyebrows. He probably found it funny, but not quite as funny as Dom clearly did, unaware of all the little signs Dom had missed, which had only now all added up.

“You in quite the Zeppelin mood last night then, yeah?”  
  
Matt’s eyebrows only quirked some more, before suddenly smoothing out as his entire face flushed a rather becoming pink. “Oh,  _oh_ , I’m so sorry! I didn’t realise the walls were quite so thin… Oh my God, I hope I haven’t been keeping you up? I must be the worst neighbour ever…”  
  
“No, no, don’t stress. Our bedrooms must just be right up against each other – the walls usually aren’t too bad. Let’s say you’re just lucky that you have such good music taste.”  
  
If it was possible, Matt’s cheeks turned even pinker.   
  
“Yeah, well, just be glad you don’t share a wall with my flat mate Tom instead – he’s going through a bit of an ABBA phase…” Matt said, stage whispering the last bit, as if it were truly that awful.  
  
Dom let out a dramatic gasp of feigned offense, which had Matt’s face lighting up all over again. “How dare you, I’ll have you know, ABBA is – and has always been – one of my all-time favourite bands! They’re undoubtedly my karaoke go to.”  
  
“Why am I not surprised?” Matt sniggered, only prompting more overdramatic gasping.  
  
“Listen here, everyone – and I mean  _everyone_  – loves ABBA, those that claim not to are simply lying! Their songs are genius; too damn catchy to resist.”   
  
When Matt then left to go to his afternoon lectures – the other man apparently still in uni (that wasn’t  _too young_ , surely?!) – which he’d been in the process of heading off to, before running into Dom, Dom could still hear his crazy, high-pitched laugh, as he let himself into his own flat and was greeted by an especially happy Hendrix.  
  


~*~

  
There was a sudden knock on Dominic’s door one afternoon, soon after he’d just gotten in from a particularly tiring day at work. He’d only just stretched out on his couch, shoes kicked off and Hendrix curled up on his chest. He was loath to move.  
  
When a second set of knocks then came, however, Dom decided he may as well summon the last of his energy and go and see who it was. He’d wanted to zone out and watch the rest of the old  _Friends_  rerun currently flashing on his telly, before taking Hendrix on their daily evening walk, but it seemed whoever it was had other plans for him.  
  
It was only when he’d just about reached his front door, having already yelled out a “Coming!” that the thought occurred to him that it could quite possibly be Kieran, come back with a change of heart and wanting them to rekindle their lost love. He’d after all only just seen Andy that day, his best mate saying he had dinner plans with his missus that evening anyway, so it certainly couldn’t be him, and as far as Dom was aware, neither his mum nor his sister were in town. He didn’t really have any other people in his life who would just show up to his gaf spontaneously, so it certainly made him pause.  
  
When another knock then came, Dom decided to just bite the bullet – sincerely praying to whatever gods may be that it wasn’t in fact Kieran – and opened the door.  
  
“Oh! Er, hi, sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you.” It was Matt, looking rather sheepish indeed, standing in front of his door.   
  
Well that was… unexpected. Matt then offered him a tentative smile, most likely in response to the no doubt ridiculous smile of surprise on Dom’s face – he shuddered to think what he looked like, his cheeks even aching it was so wide, with a mixture of relief and genuinely happy surprise. He hadn’t spoken much to Matt the past couple of weeks, the pair both busy with their lives, but they had exchanged quick pleasantries when they ended up occasionally crossing paths in the stairwell or heading in opposite directions on their dog walks.  
  
“Matt,” Dom tried tamping down his smile a bit, but didn’t think he was too successful in the endeavour. “And, uh, no. No, you didn’t, I actually just got in from work. Was lazing on the couch.” Dom tried to fix his hair as subtly as possible, figuring he’d probably mused it all up on the couch cushions and so helping to give Matt the impression he’d been sleeping.   
  
Matt looked a little relieved then when he nodded and said, “Good, good. Glad I didn’t wake you then, and that you’re in. So, um, I don’t suppose you fancy going on a walk now, do you?” Matt was right back to looking sheepish all over again, but this time in a more bashful sense than the earlier guiltier one.   
  
Dom’s heart on the other hand gave a nervous stutter. Was Matt… Had Matt… Was he asking Dom on a date? Dom opened his mouth, brain slow on the take to think of what exactly to say, when Matt suddenly started speaking again. Well, awkwardly rambling, to fill the silence still awaiting Dom’s response.  
  
“I mean, I figured we often tend to cross paths walking anyway, me heading back and you only starting out, but like, we may as well join each other. After all, we’re both just doing the same activity: walking dogs. It’d be nice, the company? But, I mean, you did only just get in, please don’t feel obliged. I just thought it might be nice. Maybe another time? Or, um, never if you’d rather just stick to your usual routine…”  
  
Company. Okay, so not a date, but still.  
  
“What, no, no. Of course, of course I’d love to come. Some company sounds nice.”  
  
“Well, some  _human_  company, anyway,” Matt filled in, fingers distractedly playing with the hem of his t-shirt (today’s was a Black Sabbath one), the corners of his lips obviously fighting back a smile.  
  
“Exactly, some company would be lovely. I’ll just put on some shoes and get Hendrix then, meet you downstairs?” Dom offered, his lazy chill session completely forgotten and not the least bit missed in the face of some time spent with Matt.  
  
“Brilliant. I’m only walking Kevin and Maple today and they’re both from the building, so I shouldn’t be long.”  
  
“‘Kevin’? Who calls their dog Kevin?!”   
  
Matt just laughed, as he waved and jogged off towards the stairwell, his clients clearly living on different floor(s).  
  
Kevin turned out to be the white puffball that had been so interested in Dominic that first day he’d met Matt. The name oddly suited him.  
  


~*~

  
It started to become a routine between them over the next couple of weeks, Dom getting home from work on week days to get ready and fetch Hendrix, before meeting Matt outside their building. The younger man usually joined him with a selection of the dogs he walked from their building, depending on the day. A few days a week Dom would also then walk a small detour with him to collect the clients that came from other flats or houses nearby, before they set off on one of the routes, the pair sharing their own walks with one another. It kept things more interesting. And it certainly kept poor Hendrix very fit, though he seemed to love the walks nearly as much as Dom did.  
  
All the walking then certainly provided them with a lot of time to talk and get to know one another better. They started off in the beginning with the more usual chat of what they’d gotten up to during the day, or sharing basic facts about themselves and the people in their lives, before devolving into silly chatter about series or books they were busy with.   
  
Matt turned out to be quite the talker, especially when the subject was something he was passionate about; Dom had already spent several walks just listening to him go on about the maddest of conspiracy theories, ranging from the existence of aliens to something called HAARP, things Dom would probably have laughed at coming from anyone else, but Matt just had such a way about him. Dom thought he could quite literally listen to him talk for hours about anything, helplessly endeared. So he was a little geeky? It was kind of (really) cute. And Dom was so far gone, he’d given up denying the fact to himself even.  
  
The one day when they’d spoken about music though, had been a real game changer in Dom’s mind, the pair establishing a proper bond over a strongly shared passion. While Dom was a session musician (much to Matt’s apparent delight), Matt turned out to be studying music himself at uni and was thoroughly impressed that Dom worked in percussion, as despite being able to play several instruments, like the guitar and piano, he claimed to hopeless when it came to percussion.  
  
It was lovely, getting to know Matthew, their interests so often overlapping and conversation never difficult to make with him, they were easily fast friends, but, as lovely as it all was, Dom couldn’t help but begin to feel a little frustrated and lost. He had no idea where he stood with Matt, whether ‘friends’ was all he really wanted with Dom or if, perhaps, there was a chance he may feel similarly and possibly be up for more.   
  
Dom had long since given up on all pretences, sure he was now single and supposed to be embracing the fact and enjoying a proper amount of time all to himself and unattached to anyone else, but… well… Then Matt had walked into his life and quite effectively laid waste to any and all attempts of doing that. There was just something special about Matt, he was different from any other bloke Dom had been with in the past and, sure, maybe he was a little younger than Dom would usually go for, but they just seemed to connect so well. They had so much in common and, let’s be honest, it really didn’t hurt that the other man was pretty damn easy on the eyes.   
  
But Matt was also just so bloody confusing. Dom kept getting mixed signals, sure Matt might be into him when Dom would say something a little too flirty and he would happily banter back, cheeks tinged pink. But, aside from roping Dom into joining him on dog walks, he hadn’t really showed any sign of wanting to include Dom in any other things, seemingly content just to stick to their routine, always politely saying goodbye to Dom at his apartment door. Dom had yet to even set foot in the other man’s flat, while Matt had politely made excuses every time he’d offered for him to come into his for tea or something after a walk. The few occasions he had come inside, when Dom had been running late and so was getting ready still, Matt would just flop on the floor and play with Hendrix leaving Dom to it. It was maddening.  
  
Dom didn’t know what his next step should be either, too scared of potentially messing what they did have all up. Scared he was misreading the way he’d sometimes catch Matt sneaking glances at him, or the way he’d blushed brightly and stuttered over his words that day Dom had answered the door shirtless, having just stepped out the shower and not thinking (he hadn’t been trying to get a read off Matt, honestly. Not that that had really helped matters either, it was the last time Matt had gone inside his flat).  
  
Honestly Dom was at his wits end, so it really shouldn’t have come as such a surprise then when it all just finally reached a head.  
  


~*~

  
It had started off with a clear sky, Matt charged with Kevin from the Wolstenholmes in number nine, Olive from the Horans in eighteen and Poppy from a girl called Abby who stayed on their floor in forty-five, the pair of them choosing to take the dogs on the long route due to the lovely weather.   
  
Hendrix happily trotted on Dom’s left, while he’d taken Kevin (who was still definitely a Howard fan, the sentiment always making Dom smile) to walk on his right side, Matt leading the other two. For once though, well, at least on Dom’s side, the conversation hadn’t really flowed as readily as usual. Dom was lost in his thoughts, hung up on the fact that he was totally gone for Matt, who could quite possibly feel either way about him in return, though Dom’s hopes were beginning to dwindle. Matt seemed oblivious to the fact though, just prattling on about something or other, Dom not really listening.  
  
Naturally, as these things tended to happen, it wasn’t until they were round about at the furthest point from home in their walk, strolling through Battersea Park, when the heavens above deigned it necessary to suddenly burst open with a torrent of freezing rain. Dom had been so lost in his head, he hadn’t even noticed the storm clouds rolling in and, judging by the look on Matt’s face, he had been taken just as much by surprise by the sudden cloud burst. Typically, neither had thought to bring even an umbrella with them (the skies had been clear dammit!).  
  
They were both drenched within minutes, despite their mad dash to wait under a tree for the rain to calm down some, before finally they then made the miserable wet trek back home, muddy dogs at their sides. Kevin and Hendrix didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the change in weather though, the pair simply just embracing the puddles as they happily trotted on.  
  
When they eventually made it home safe to their building, Dom simply wished Matt an early goodbye, instead of joining him like he usually did to drop off all the pups. He was cold, wet and miserable and he was beginning to suspect that Matt just didn’t feel the same. Maybe he had gotten his wires all crossed, maybe Matt wasn’t even into blokes, despite what Dom’s intuition would have him believe. Either way, he was just unlucky in love and there was a warm bath and a glass of prosecco waiting for him back in his flat. Maybe he should have tried harder before, with the whole ‘embracing his single status’ thing.  
  
The first thing Dom had done upon entering his flat, was to ditch his muddy trainers at the door and give Hendrix a quick hose down in the bath, before rinsing it and running a nice bubble bath for himself, having stripped down to his boxers, clothes in a wet heap in the corner. He’d deal with them later. Maybe.  
  
He’d just gone to light up a quick cigarette, waiting for the tub to fill and sat on the closed toilet lid while he watched it, when he heard some loud knocking at his door. It sounded rather insistent.  
  
“Fuck it all, can’t even have a bloody smoke – what a cock up of a day,” he muttered to himself, quickly turning off the tap and stumping out his cigarette in the ashtray that sat in the window sill (the bathroom was the best place indoors for a cheeky fag, there was no risk of any soft furnishings absorbing the smell. Besides, he rather liked smoking while he lay back in the bubbles while he bathed; made it feel more luxurious), before making his way to the door.  
  
“Hi– _Hi_ , Dominic.” It was Matt. Because of fucking course it was Matt. Dom didn’t think he’d ever heard the other man call him by his full name before though. He looked rather startled too, as well as very drenched, his eyelashes were all inky and clumped together, making the blue irises in his wide eyes appear all the more viv–Oh. Oh, right. Dom was only wearing his silly tooth necklace and his boxers. His completely-damp-and-leaving-nothing-to-the-imagination light grey boxer briefs. Ah.  
  
“Sorry, sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I forgot,” Dom rushed to explain, feeling his cheeks heat as he moved to politely try and cover his modesty.   
  
Matt’s own cheeks were positively flushed too, standing out all the more against his chilled-pale skin, while his usually meticulously-styled, blue hair was drenched almost navy and stuck pasted flat all around his face, Matt pushing the long strands out of his eyes. Unlike Dom, he was still dressed, but the soaked state of his clothing rendered them almost pointless too, his pebbled nipples clear through the (now see-through) white of his Stone Roses tee. He also apparently had a nipple piercing. Alright then. That was fine. Totally cool. Dom was cool. Dom was totally fine.  
  
Dom tried to quickly drag his eyes back up to Matt’s, only to see something flicker in Matt’s eyes. He’d clearly been caught out staring. Well, to be fair, who could blame him? Who knew someone could turn a simple white t-shirt adorned with a bloody lemon into something quite so… sexy. The wet, white fabric positively clung to him, showing the dips and curves of his slight build in the most tantalising of ways.   
  
Dom’s mouth opened, as his brain frantically searched for something – anything – to say, only for what had begun to seem like the unthinkable to happen: Matt surged forward and crashed their lips together, long fingers burying themselves in Dom’s damp mop of inky black hair.  
  
Dom’s instincts seemed to just immediately kick in then, despite his brain’s stuttering shock, as he wasted no time in kissing Matt right back, his hands moving to clutch the shorter man around his narrow waist. Matt kicked the door shut behind himself, not breaking the kiss for a second.  
  
It felt incredible to finally and actually be kissing Matthew Bellamy, the impossibly cute and geeky uni student from number forty-one, next door. Part of Dom honestly couldn’t believe it was happening, but he only had to feel the eager, wet slide of Matt’s tongue against his own and the damp cotton of his top pressed against his own bare skin to know it could only be so. It was all just too tangible. Too real.  
  
Dom wasn’t even aware of the fact that he’d been slowly guiding Matt back towards the wall, until their mouths finally separated as they came to a sudden stop, Matt’s back hitting the wall as he let out an “Oof”.  
  
“Shit, you okay?” Dom asked, his voice having gone a bit deeper from all the kissing. Matt just grinned back up at him.  
  
“Yeah. More than. Fuck, been wanting to do that for weeks.”  
  
“You have?” Now this was certainly news to Dom.  
  
“Ah-huh. Christ, I’ve been crushing so badly on you, ever since that first day we met. You’re so bloody fit.” Dom had to duck in for another kiss, honestly amazed and over the moon about what he was hearing.  
  
“Same. Fuck, same. You’re so beautiful, Matt. Wanted you from that very first day too. Since I’ve gotten to know you though, know more than just your looks, but know the beauty within too? I’ve wanted you even more. It’s been driving me crazy,” Dom admitted, feeling so much lighter now that the truth was out there. Now that he had Matthew pressed up against him.  
  
“Yeah? Then why didn’t you ever say anything? I had no idea, I didn’t think you’d ever look twice at me…”  
  
“I didn’t know if it was just me that felt that way. I didn’t wanna come off too strong or ruin the new friendship we’d started building. And why didn’t you think I’d ever look twice at you? I’d have been dumb not to have. Did you not just hear me say how beautiful I think you are?”  
  
“Yeah, well, I didn’t know you thought that at the time, now did I? Thought you were this gorgeous older bloke with your life all set out and planned, while I’m just some loser uni student trying to figure out my life, running around with other people’s dogs to help pay my rent.”  
  
Dom just chuckled, stealing another kiss, which quickly devolved into a proper round of snogging. Matt made the sweetest humming noise when Dom began to suck on his tongue, his hand having moved to rub the pad of his thumb over the bump of Matt’s left nipple and its piercing through his wet shirt. Dom could feel himself growing hard and eager, Matt’s answering hard-on hard to miss, pressed insistently against his thigh.  
  
When Dom couldn’t take it anymore, he pulled away from the kiss, their lips parting wetly, as Matt slowly opened his eyes, gone lazy and lust blown, to look back at him questioningly.   
  
“Can I suck you off?” Dom asked, biting his lip as he shifted his left hand to cup Matt through the damp fabric of his jeans. His dick had to be aching something fierce, trapped in the tight, wet confines of the (now extra) restrictive material.  
  
Matt’s eyes instantly snapped open wider, his head nodding eagerly before he could even find his voice. “Y-yeah. Yeah, sure. I mean, if you want to?”  
  
Dom simply shot him a smirk, before dropping down on his knees. He didn’t faff about then, making quick work of Matt’s flies, before then helping him shimmy his skinny jeans and bright red boxers down, his eyes tacking in pale, slim thighs, as the wet fabric then pooled around his ankles. When Dom then looked back up, to the hard dick which stood out eagerly before him, he was many things, but disappointed was certainly far from it.  
  
“You’ve got a lovely cock,” the words were out of his mouth before his filters could even snap into action, as Dom reached out to wrap his fist around the full base of him.  
  
“Oh my God,” Matt groaned in a delightful mixture of mortified and turned on, hands briefly coming up to hide his flaming cheeks.  
  
“It’s true,” Dom chuckled, deciding to just stick with it now that it was out there. It was true after all, Matt’s dick an impressive size and flushed a lovely, needy red. Dom swiped the foreskin back to reveal the glossy, pink head, a drop of precome beginning to pearl at the slit.  
  
“Oh  _God_ ,” Matt properly moaned loudly this time, not a sign of any embarrassment left to be found, as Dom moved forward to lick a firm line from up the base of him, before just swallowing as much of him as he could in one go. Which was quite a bit, Dom rather prided himself in his blowjob skills.  
  
When Dom began to suck and move his head in earnest, he felt Matt’s hands tentatively rest on his hair, fingers twitching a bit as the most addictive little whines and moans escaped from the younger man.   
  
“Tug. Please, I like it a little rough, helps me get off,” Dom briefly pulled off to grunt, grey eyes trained up at Matt’s glazed blue ones, which were looking back down on him in apparent wonder. And Dom didn’t think he could get any cuter.   
  
Matt shakily nodded his head, his fingers curling more firmly in the black strands of Dominic’s hair, getting a good grip. Grinning internally, his mouth too busy with current activities, Dom hummed his approval as Matt began to do as asked and tugged a bit, Dom then moving to get a hold of himself with his free hand, his eager cock already sticking out his boxer’s waistband.   
  
He was already so wet, his dick positively dripping and making the frantic slide of his fist all the easier, weeks of wanting finally being realised in a manner that was even better than he could have ever dreamt up.   
  
The high-pitched sounds he was pulling from Matt now, as he in turn yanked at the thick tufts of Dom’s hair, were growing all the more desperate, as Matt’s hips began to jerk a little bit more off from the wall, all signalling his impending orgasm. Dom began to chase it in turn all the more eagerly, pulling out his speciality as he then relaxed his throat further and took Matt all the way in, until his nose was brushing against the scattering of crisp, dark hair which crown the base of Matt’s cock.  
  
In the end, it all proved a bit much for the younger man, as it only took a few flutters of the tight pressure from Dom’s throat gripping down around him, before Matt was suddenly coming with a strangled cry, his warm release coating Dom’s throat as he pulled off a bit. He swallowed as much as he could, distracted by his own rapidly approaching climax, fist working over himself quickly. When Matt then gave a weak tug at his hair, it helped send Dom over the edge too, spilling over his own fist as he continued to mouth and lick at Matt’s softening cock. He stopped when Matt gently pushed him away, shuddering and over sensitive.  
  
“Fuck me.” Matt was the first to speak, sinking down onto the floor to join Dom, who was now just spread out on his back.  
  
“Hmm, well, if that’s on offer…” Dom chuckled softly, honestly too knackered out after the run back in the rain and the mind-blowing orgasm he’d just had, but still, how could he resist?

  
Matt weakly swatted at him, huffing a little. When Dom shifted to look back at him properly though, the younger man offered him a sleepy smile. He looked about as knackered as Dom felt. “Maybe later. If you play your cards right. Don’t want you to think I’m  _too_  easy after all.”  
  
Dom couldn’t help but grin like a maniac at that, still completely blown away by the spectacular turn the evening had taken. He was about to comment on the fact, when he suddenly heard a little whimper and what sounded suspiciously like nails on a door. Hendrix. Shit, he’d closed him in the bathroom when he’d gone to answer the door.  
  
“Is that Hendrix?” Matt asked, clearly hearing it too, as he sat up, suddenly appearing to have been granted some energy back.  
  
“Yup, forgot I left him in the bathroom,” Dom said, getting up on his feet too, unsure what to do with his boxers – should he just take them off? Or should he tuck himself back in?  
  
Matt seemed to answer that question for him though, when he too got to his feet and began to attempt to pull his tight wet jeans back up. They must have been cold and rough, Dom had only been too quick to ditch his own earlier. He was also then reminded of the bubble bath he’d just run not too long ago.  
  
“Wait, Matt?” Matt turned to look at him questioningly, still struggling with his jeans around his thighs, blue hair beginning to dry in fluffy clumps. “I don’t suppose you fancy a bubble bath, I just ran one for myself before you knocked. I reckon we could both easily fit in with a bit of a squish. We could just top it up with some more hot water...” He’d begun to ramble then, suddenly worried he was pushing too much too soon and–And by now, Dom should have known better.  
  
Dom had never seen someone strip so quickly before, a wide grin on Matt’s face, as Dom did the same before Matt reached out to use his necklace to tug him in close for a tender kiss.  
  
“C’mon then, Dom, short for Dominic, show me the bubbles!”   
  
“Oh my God, I hate you.”  
  
“No, you don’t. You admitted to fancying me rotten just now.”  
  
“I don’t and that I do, you’re right.”  
  
“Good,” Matt grinned widely, that snaggle tooth of his catching on his top lip. “Because I feel the same.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! <3


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